Nature Notes for September 16, 2011
Migration – a time that is dear to the hearts of any birder.
During migration, birds frequently turn up in places where they shouldn’t be,
prompting a flurry of activity amongst birders in the know.
Fall migration is a rather protracted affair. As long as
there food is available, there is no rush.
The first southbound birds are on their way by early July.
These are the shorebirds which nest in the high Arctic and winter in South
America. They travel huge distances, usually along a different path northbound
and southbound. These paths reflect availability of the foods they need to fuel
these journeys.
The first to move are the adult shorebirds. They stay in the
north only as long as it takes to incubate the eggs. The young are then on
their own and follow as much as a month or two later.
Right now, many birders are frequenting the Owen Point Trail
at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. If there are concentrations of shorebirds
anywhere in Northumberland, they are usually here. The make-up the flocks of
sandpipers and plovers which stop here changes constantly from hour to hour.
This is an excellent place to study shorebirds, since they can be quite close.
Next to start to move are some of the small songbirds.
Yellow Warblers begin to migrate by late July. There follow waves of other warblers
and such things as flycatchers, Scarlet Tanagers and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks on
each good northerly wind.
Over the past three weeks, we have encountered mixed species
flocks of warblers in a number of wooded locations. Although the warblers
themselves can be very quiet at this season, they often travel with
Black-capped Chickadees which are noisier. If you find a chickadee flock, it is
worth looking it over. There may be other birds with them. Most warblers will
have left by the end of this month.
The early migrating thrushes, such as Wood Thrush and Veery
have mostly left. Swainson’s Thrushes and Gray-cheeked Thrushes are moving now.
Hermit Thrushes will be passing soon. They are often abundant at about
Thanksgiving.
Swallows have mostly left southern Ontario by now. Many
winter as far south as Brazil, although many Tree Swallows only go as far as
the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Although most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have left, today (Sept.
13) we saw 4 during a walk in a local woods as well as two at our backyard
feeder.
The first push of sparrows
and kinglets usually comes around mid-September and continues through much of
October. Some will probably arrive on the next cold front.
The southern Ontario hawk watches have started up. From late
August until about the first week of November, at several points along the
north shores of Lakes Ontario and Erie, volunteers sit out in all weathers to
record numbers and the species of hawks flying over. They also sometimes record
numbers of other diurnal migrants such as Blue Jays and American Robins.
To add to the excitement of migration, the weather can blow
strays our way. The winds of a Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee didn’t come
close enough to bring Ontario any exotic tropical species. Although they didn’t
bring anything tropical, they did ground southbound migrants and slowed
migration for a several days.
During migration, the number and species of birds present in
an area can vary tremendously from day to day. One never knows what the next
day may bring.
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